Jan 20 2015

Wolf Sworn In As Pennsylvania Governor

HARRISBURG – Tom Wolf, a businessman from York, took the oath of office Tuesday as Pennsylvania’s 47th chief executive, proclaiming, “I am an unconventional Governor.”

Wolf, a Democrat who made history by ousting a sitting governor in November’s election, called for “rebuilding the middle class” through a government that partners with business, while stressing his diverse personal background that included running a forklift at his family’s cabinet making business and serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.

“I am not a product of our political system,” said Wolf, not mentioning his stint as revenue secretary under Gov. Ed Rendell or his doctorate in political science from MIT.

Wolf, 66, with his wife, Frances, and daughters Sarah and Kate by his side, was sworn in outside the Capitol on an unusually mild January day, with outgoing Gov. Tom Corbett and former Govs. Ed Rendell, Tom Ridge, and Mark Schweiker looking on, bands playing, and hundreds of cheering supporters lining Commonwealth Avenue.

Jan 15 2015

Tom Wolf’s Agenda: Raise The Minimum Wage To $10.10 An Hour

Tom Wolf, who was elected governor in November, wants to raise the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. Here are five things to know about the issue.

1. Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

That’s the same rate as the federal minimum wage.

Nationwide, 29 states have a minimum wage above the federal level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

2. Wolf says raising the minimum wage would create jobs.

Wolf’s “Fresh Start” policy plan, released in February 2014, says raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and indexing it to inflation would raise wages for 20 percent of Pennsylvanians and lead to the creation of 5,000 jobs by 2016.

The plan cites the Economic Policy Institute, which describes itself as dedicated to including “the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions,” as its source for those figures.

Jan 15 2015

Maryland Trooper To Head PSP, Former Hazleton Police Chief Is Adjutant General

Governor-Elect Tom Wolf has chosen Col. Marcus L. Brown, superintendent of the Maryland State Police, to lead Pennsylvania State Police.

Brown will succeed Col. Frank R. Noonan, of Clarks Summit, in that role. According to the Associated Press, the post pays $145,025 per year.

As well, Major Gen. James R. Joseph, a former Hazleton police chief, will serve as adjutant general at the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Once nominated, both men will require state Senate confirmation.

Dec 15 2014

Wolf Brings Urban Policy Expertise

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s next governor knows all about distressed cities.

Gov.-elect Tom Wolf spent 12 years as president of Better York, a nonprofit bent on revitalizing the city of York. In that role, he worked closely with a nationally prominent urban expert who promotes regional solutions for urban woes.

As he prepares to take office Jan. 20, Wolf said he wants to lead a statewide discussion about how the future of older cities such as Scranton, inner ring suburbs and the surrounding townships are interrelated.

“What I bring to this is a real appreciation for what cities do,” he said in an interview.

Dec 10 2014

Westmoreland County Airport Authority Seeks $5M For Arnold Palmer Growth

Speaking to Westmoreland County Airport Authority members on Tuesday, state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, recalled an event during which she ran into a representative of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, who said the region doesn’t have room for two major airports.

“I told him, ‘Go ahead and close down,’ ” she said, laughing.

She and her chief of staff, Rob Ritson, attended a meeting at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity because the authority wrote her office a letter in October requesting $5 million as a line item in the state transportation budget.

The authority wants the funding to aid a large-scale, $7 million project to expand the terminal building and a $15 million project to strengthen and widen the runway, said board member Don Rossi, finance committee chairman.

Nov 17 2014

Tom Wolf On Work, Reforms And Driving His Jeep

AFTER TOM WOLF got his doctorate from MIT, he worked at his family-owned cabinet company – driving a forklift.

That experience could soon come in handy.

Estimates just released by the state’s Independent Fiscal Office say the incoming governor’s first budget faces a shortfall of nearly $2 billion.

Heavy lifting clearly is called for.

Nov 6 2014

Voter Turnout Around 45 Percent, About Average For Governor’s Race, Officials Say

Although nice weather and busy poll stations may have given the impression of above-average voter turnout Tuesday, election officials in Chester, Berks and Montgomery counties indicated it was anything but.

“It was a little lower than it was four years ago,” said Deborah Olivieri, director of the Berks County Office of Voter Services.

“But it’s better than 17 percent,” she said, referring to the anemic voter-turnout in the spring Primary Election.

According to figures posted on their respective websites, voter turnout ranged between a high of 48.2 percent in Montgomery County, where 262,738 votes were cast, to a low of 41 percent in Berks County, where 100,731 votes were case.

Oct 7 2014

Corbett Down 17 In New Quinnipiac Poll

Democratic challenger Tom Wolf leads Gov. Tom Corbett (R) by 17 percentage points among likely voters in Pennsylvania – 55 percent to 38 percent – as the campaign enters its final month, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released Tuesday.

The survey shows a slight improvement for Corbett compared to the last Quinnipiac Poll of the race Sept. 11, when Wolf led 59 percent to 35 percent among likely voters.

Oct 3 2014

Wolf Maintains Large Lead Over Corbett With Month Left In Governor’s Campaign

The latest sample of voter opinions in the Pennsylvania governor’s race tested for lingering effects of Gov. Tom Corbett’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation investigation.

It shows the struggling Republican incumbent still trailing Democratic challenger Tom Wolf by double digits.

Robert Morris University Polling Institute found 54.6 percent of voters say the Sandusky case would not affect their vote, according to an online survey sponsored by Trib Total Media. Almost 27 percent say Corbett’s handling of the investigation makes them less likely to support his re-election, and 12 percent say it makes them more likely to vote for Corbett.

May 24 2014

Wolf vs. Corbett: 5 Issues They’ll Tussle Over Between Now And November

Map of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The campaigns for Gov. Tom Corbett and Democratic challenger Tom Wolf traded shots over education funding, natural gas drilling and other issues before Wolf won his party’s nomination.

Voters can expect a lot more of that before Nov. 4.

“I think it’s going to be a long, grueling contest, in which both candidates are going to have to defend an awful lot about their records,” said G. Terry Madonna, a pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.

Corbett has had lower approval ratings than Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell had at the same points in their first terms. In a January poll from Franklin & Marshall College, 23 percent of registered Pennsylvania voters said Corbett was doing an “excellent” or “good” job as governor.

May 20 2014

Expert: Low Voter Turnout Could Eat Into Wolf’s Margin Of Victory

Map of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Democratic candidate for governor Tom Wolf seems the clear front-runner for Tuesday’s primary, but an expected low voter turnout could shrink his margin of victory significantly.

“I can see him winning by 4 or 5 percent,” said Dr. Thomas Baldino, professor of political science at Wilkes University. “I’d be surprised if he won by 13 percent, or even double digits.

The hype of an increasingly aggressive and negative ad campaign won’t change the fact that voters — particularly Democratic voters — usually don’t show up for midterm primaries or elections, Baldino said.

“It won’t be any historic low, but it’ll be low,” Baldino said. “In the aggregate, a registered Republican is more likely to vote than a registered Democrat.

May 15 2014

Wolf Maintains Large Lead Over Dem Rivals In New Poll

With less than a week left before Pennsylvanians head to the polls, Tom Wolf continues to hold a sizable lead in the Democratic gubernatorial race.

The latest Franklin & Marshall College Poll, released Wednesday, shows 33 percent of registered Democrats favor Wolf, more than doubling the 14 percent of his nearest competitor, Allyson Schwartz.

Rob McCord placed third in the newest poll at 9 percent, with Katie McGinty coming in last at 5 percent.

Thirty-nine percent of voters remain undecided.

Apr 26 2014

A Look At The Pennsylvania Governor Candidates’ Different Plans For The Minimum Wage, Drilling And Marijuana Laws

Standard of the Governor of Pennsylvania http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-pa.html#gov (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

All four Democrats running for governor want to get more revenue from natural gas drilling. But they have different plans for how to tax the extraction and what to do with the money.

All four want to raise the minimum wage, but they don’t all agree by how much.

When it comes to marijuana laws, they aren’t in lockstep either.

The May 20 primary will decide whether state environmental protection secretary Katie McGinty, state Treasurer Rob McCord, U.S. Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz or York County businessman Tom Wolf will get the Democratic nomination for governor.

Apr 1 2014

Tom Wolf, Candidate For Governor, Speaks At His Pottstown Alma Mater

POTTSTOWN, PA — Hill School alumnus and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf was on campus Saturday morning.

Wolf, a 1967 graduate, was invited to be a part of the school’s year-long speakers series focusing on integrity — the theme for 2013-2014 academic year.

Speaking to a packed house in the Center For The Arts building, Wolf used several abstract ideas to convey how integrity is important in life because, “the real world is the right world.”

He told students that “fairness, inclusion, trust and hope,” were all important in the real world and he came to that realization through his years in business, academia and volunteering with the Peace Corps.

Mar 7 2014

Pittsburgh-Area Leaders Expected To Back Tom Wolf

Tom Wolf, the Democratic front-runner in the race for governor, will be in town Saturday to showcase high-profile endorsements from Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and possibly other local elected officials.

Neither the county executive nor the mayor would comment on the development, which was confirmed by those involved in discussions with the candidate. It wasn’t clear what other officials might join them at the weekend announcement.

Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Peduto are part of a group of local officials who have had ongoing discussions about the possibility of a group endorsement from senior Democrats in the region. U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, has been part of those discussions and one figure familiar with the endorsement conversation said he expected the congressman to be there as well.

Feb 1 2014

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski To Withdraw From Pennsylvania Governor Race, Source Says

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski plans to drop out of the race for Pennsylvania governor, according to a source.

Pawlowski, a Democrat who had been seeking to challenge Republican incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett, will withdraw from the race Monday and endorse Treasurer Rob McCord, the source said.

Mike Fleck, Pawlowski’s campaign manager, declined to comment except to say Pawlowski would hold a news conference 11 a.m. Monday to discuss the governor’s race.

Pawlowski did not immediately respond to a phone call for comment tonight.

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